


Someone to Lead Us

by puppyyoongi



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Character Study, F/M, Fate & Destiny, Fluff and Angst, Love Triangles, M/M, Post-Time Skip, Romance, Slow Burn, There are gonna be a lot of relationships in it, also more characters will come in as more main characters as the chapters go on, also no byleth, and Sylvain is the main character, but i'm not gonna tag them because they're not the main relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-22
Updated: 2020-03-30
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:48:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23258668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/puppyyoongi/pseuds/puppyyoongi
Summary: "The Blue Lions had planned to meet back here 5 years ago. Sylvain wondered if anyone would be able to keep that promise. The sunlight dwindled but not Sylvain’s hope, as when the dawn began, maybe just maybe, his friends would be back. He takes off his many layers of armor, feeling somewhat safe within the monastery walls. He believed that they would come back. He had to."In the absence of Dimitri, Sylvain must lead the Blue Lions on a path to end the war. While trying to figure out how he must navigate these unprecedented circumstances, he also must choose between the two people he loves the most.
Relationships: Felix Hugo Fraldarius/Sylvain Jose Gautier, Sylvain Jose Gautier/Mercedes von Martritz
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	1. Someone to Lead Us

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I am excited to delve into this story, something I've thought about a lot is is how the Blue Lions would be different if Sylvain was the leader instead of Dimitri. Sylvain is one of my most favorite characters ever, he is an incredibly layered character with so much to explore. I'm writing this story amidst the Covid-19 breakout, I found social distancing and quarantine as the perfect opportunity to work on my writing skills, and I am obsessed with FE3H at the moment so why not combine both of those things into one. I am also trying to get better at writing romance and I love the way Sylvain interacts with Felix and Mercedes, they both seem destined for him. I hope you enjoy the story, it will be an ongoing story with lots of interesting and different story elements I'll be including. Also feel free to share this and post it on twitter to other Sylvain lovers!

The clouds subsided, emerging from them; a broken place. The monastery stood, untouched after a half a decade, in the middle of a war-torn continent. Almost a thousand years of existence, living and breathing and yet the halls were emptied, devoid of the life it used to know. 

Sylvain waits in the pews, silently watching the suns movement through the gaping hole in the chapel walls. Those 5 years had weathered the cathedral, allowing nature to begin its course. Tomorrow was supposed to be the millennium festival, now for Sylvain to be here seemed like a hopeless venture. He knew the Frauldarius and Dominic families had been working tirelessly to search for Dimitri, but without any luck. 

The Blue Lions had planned to meet back here years ago. Sylvain wondered if anyone would be able to keep that promise. The sunlight dwindled but not Sylvain’s hope, as when the dawn began maybe just maybe his friends would be back. He takes off his many layers of armor, feeling somewhat safe for once within the monastery walls. He believed that they would come back. He had to. 

/////

“Sylvain?” A soft voice whisper’s from above him, “Sylvain, is that you?” He wakes up to a familiar woman, a comforting spirit. He sits up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. 

“Mercedes… you’re here.” Sylvain jolts up from pure excitement. “Wow, how did you get even more beautiful?” Mercedes laughs at his childlike joy while he stares into her eyes. Mercedes takes his hands in hers. They’re soft and they linger in his for a moment more. 

“Oh Sylvain, of course I’m here. We all are.” Mercedes gestures to the small slew of former students in the cathedral. Everyone is so different, but somehow it still feels the same. There was a warmth to this meeting, even though it was noticeably a smaller group than the Blue Lions used to be. It felt like home, a feeling that had been remiss from Sylvain’s life since his academy days. It had been through the crowd of friends that he saw a face he never thought he’d see again. Felix stood in the shadows, staying far away from the celebrations but even from across the room they still caught each other’s eyes. Felix gives Sylvain an unexpected smile and a nod. He must have missed him too. 

The reunion continued in the dining hall, which was covered in cobwebs and dust. The small group laid out their rations and began reminiscing about the old days. Annette and Mercedes caught up quietly with each other while Ingrid and Sylvain began to patronize Felix until he got angry, making everyone at the table laugh. 

“I was so worried that no one else would show up. I’m so glad I was wrong.” Ashe said, “Though, I thought maybe… there would be more of us.” They all felt that same way. They take a small pause as a group, silently addressing the lack of Dimitri and Dedue.  
  
“I thought they would show up” Annette bows her head after finally saying what everyone was thinking, “I guess I was wrong.” 

“The nights not over yet, we have no reason to give up hope.” Mercedes says as she wraps her arm around Annette’s shoulder. 

“You should. My father has been searching for the Boar for years, he’s gone.” Felix says. 

“You don’t know that, Felix. There were rumors he’s still alive!” Ingrid yells. 

“Even if he were alive, he’d be unrecognizable to us. Just a monster full of rage.” Felix rebuts. The rest of the gang fell quiet except for one, unwilling to get in the middle of this age-old conflict between Felix and Ingrid. 

“Hey, let’s just have a good time today. Everything sucks right now, let’s just have one moment that isn’t bad. I know for myself it’s been a long time since I’ve been able to enjoy something.” Sylvain says, surprisingly commanding the room and causing Felix and Ingrid to bow down from getting at each other’s throats. There was something different about him, but he never lost that same dumb smile on his face when he was around his friends. 

They continue on with the festivities from the morning to night, talking for hours about their time apart. It became more apparent to each of them that they were happier together, not apart. But as the night grew darker, their two friends never arrived. The group still held out some semblance of hope that their leader would come back to them. 

/////

The next few days were full of readjusting as the group decides to make Garreg Mach their home again. None of the Blue Lions had anywhere they wanted to go back to. The outside world was cruel and harsh but being there felt like a fresh of breath air. 

Sylvain used to frequent the small town outside the monastery in his school days, searching for comfort in casual intimacy with strangers. It wasn’t like that anymore, the war had taken the careless fun from his encounters, now when he found himself in bed with someone (which was a rarity) it was like a routine rather than an exciting encounter. 

The town outside the monastery was in ruin now, run by bandits and other ne’er-de-wells. Sylvain would lead Ingrid and Felix down there to search for supplies, usually having to fight those they encountered. Mercedes, Ashe and Annette were busy fixing up parts of the monastery that were destroyed. Though they all were getting anxious about the looming questions that floated through all their heads and where their duties lied in this war. 

The days turned into weeks of endless work. Mostly stalling until maybe something would change. Things became comfortable between them all, building back all the closeness they had previous to the war. 

Mercedes was the first to audibly notice the idleness of the group. She expressed her concern first to Felix who brushed her aside to focus on training. There were people suffering from the wars ongoing battles, it just felt to her that they all were escaping the realities of the world rather than coming together to save those who couldn’t fight. She spoke to Ingrid who shared the same concerns, especially when it came to be getting out there and helping those in need. But no one had a plan to execute these ideas. Annette suggested that they stay there and continue to wait, as the six of them were not nearly strong enough to even take out the empires lowest ranked soldiers in her mind. 

Mercedes believed that even without their leader, they could do something to even help out some of the villages being destroyed by the empire’s forces. She approached Sylvain in the gardens as he was reading on the grass. She kneeled next to him, splaying her dress on the grass. Sylvain puts his book down and turns his classic charm on. 

“Mercedes… what brings you here? Did you come here for a romantic rendezvous?” Sylvain sits up in anticipation.

“No.” She says bluntly, “I wanted to talk to you.”

“I should have saw that coming” he says, “what’s up?” 

“We have been here for a while and there has been no sign of Dimitri or Dedue.” Mercedes says sadly, “There’s a war out there and we’re not doing anything about it.” 

Sylvain takes a deep breath, knowing that she was right. Most of them did possess a crest, although it felt like more of a curse rather than a blessing. It did give them an advantage in war, Sylvain was more than aware of that fact. For the past 5 years, his father reminded him of that. He saw coming back to Garreg Mach as an escape from the Kingdom and their antiquated ideals, but he knew deep down that he would have to get back into the fight at some point. His eyes narrow. 

“I’m aware of that.” Sylvain playful fun dissipates into a slight anger, “I’ve been reminded of that since I watched the Kingdom fall. I realize we’ve been taking advantage of our time here, indulging ourselves. But I don’t know what else we’re supposed to do.” 

“We don’t have to fight the Empire directly, but we do have the means to make even a small difference. We need someone to lead us.” Mercedes takes a pregnant pause, allowing for Sylvain to pick up exactly what she means. 

“Me? You’ve gotta be kidding me.” Sylvain says, “No. No. No. Have you met me? I’m not capable of that.” He takes a breath. “I’m not someone people respect. You know me, you know the things I’ve done.” 

Mercedes looks at him with sad eyes, “I’m sorry I suggested it.” She stands up, leaving him to his own devices, clearly upset with his dismissiveness. 

/////

That night, Sylvain couldn’t sleep. He kept thinking about Mercedes’s suggestion. He never knew why she thought so highly of him, even when she knew him when he was at the academy. Back then he did a lot of regretful things. His old dorm room was a reminder of that, how he shared his bed with so many people back then. He tried his whole life to make everyone think he was incapable of any power, and honestly, he was pretty convincing at it. He didn’t want his friends to rely on him, he didn’t trust himself to protect them. 

His contemplation was cut short by some unfamiliar sounds outside his window. He grabbed the Lance of Ruin and headed outside. He followed the sounds up to the bridge outside the cathedral. They were bandits. He had thought no one came up to the monastery anymore as it was properly raided of all its remaining goods after Edelgard attacked it. He thought it was safe. 

The bandits spotted him almost immediately. The glowing lance in his hands was not very stealthy in the middle of the night. They came at him quickly; it wasn’t the smartest decision to follow them without his armor on, but his instincts got the better of him. He didn’t want them to hurt anyone else but him. 

He defended himself against the first bandit, taking them down immediately. It was a small group so cutting down first few were easy. Though once they were all attacking him, he lost his upper hand and one of them got behind him. The bandit slashed the side of his torso, inflicting a large amount of damage. It felt like a losing fight as the other bandit came running towards Sylvain who was just getting back up. The bandit was stopped right before attacking Sylvain by having a sword plunged through their chest. It was Felix’s sword. All the Bandit’s were dead. Felix sheathed his sword and stared at Sylvain’s wound on his side. 

“You are an idiot. You could have gotten yourself killed.” Felix says while Sylvain puts pressure on his own wound. 

“But I didn’t.” he playfully responds. Felix sighs and grabs one of Sylvain’s hands, moving it to the right position to stop the bleeding. They make eye contact, Felix’s way of saying he was worried about him. 

“You can’t even stop your own bleeding correctly.” Felix lets go of Sylvain’s hand, “I’ll go get Mercedes.”

/////

The six blue lions gathered in the infirmary as Mercedes healed Sylvain. Each of them knew that the safety they once knew was no more. 

“How did this happen?” Annette says, breaking the silence. 

“Bandit’s looking for supplies. Should have known there would be some sooner or later” Felix responds. 

“If this happened once, it will happen again.” Ashe adds. “It could be worse next time.”   
“It was stupid thinking staying here was a good idea. We are low on numbers in the middle of a war.” Felix says sharply. 

“So, what do we do? Where do we go?” Ingrid says. The room falls silent. Mercedes stops her healing and looks at Sylvain, suggesting for him to make the final decision. There didn’t seem to be many options at this point for the group. The six of them didn’t have anywhere else to go but staying in Garreg Mach could be a death sentence. And even what Mercedes suggested by helping small towns and villages didn’t seem viable, they just weren’t strong enough. The only thing they had was an inkling that Dimitri was still alive, rumors that had been floating around the Kingdom for a while even after Cornelia declared he was dead. 

Sylvain picked up on what Mercedes was quietly suggesting, recalling their conversation from earlier. He wanted to make it clear to her that she was wrong. 

“I told you, I’m not cut out for this.” Sylvain stands up, his wound still not totally healed yet, and forces himself to walk to the door. He leans on the door frame, still weak. “I’m gonna head out, let you guys figure this out. I don’t want to get in the way.” 

“You’re not fully healed yet!” Mercedes says. The blue lions all exchange looks to each other, all wondering if this guy was for real. 

“It’s fine!” Sylvain exits the room. Annette sighs at Sylvain’s stupidity, all of them just accepting that he doesn’t want to be included in this conversation. 

“He loves to run away from his problems.” Ingrid recounted. “I don’t know what you said to him Mercie but he’s clearly not ready for it.

“I insinuated that maybe… he could take a leading role within our small group. No one else has stepped up to do it, and it feels as if we have no direction right now.” Mercedes disappointment grows as Felix and Ingrid both begin to laugh uncontrollably. 

“Have you met him? He’s too busy trying to get into people’s pants than actually make decisions.” Ingrid retorts. 

“He’s not like that anymore, I really think the war changed him.” Mercedes says defensively. 

“No, it’s because there’s no one here he can charm into bed with him.” Ingrid responds. She thought maybe she was being a bit overtly hard on him, but he also proved her point time and time again. 

“Why didn’t you ask me if I wanted to lead us?” Felix asks. That statement actually did cause Mercedes to giggle. 

“No, Felix.” Annette says while Felix shrugs and leans on the wall behind him nonchalantly, accepting her rejection with no animosity. 

“I actually think Mercie has a point.” Ashe adds, causing Ingrid to gasp audibly, “Back in our academy days I actually noticed he was quite a chivalrous person despite… his flaws.” 

“He’s actually really smart too! He even got better marks than me…” Annette admitted. 

“Well… surely I don’t want to do it.” Ingrid says, “I hate to say it but he is a good person behind everything else.” 

Felix leaves the room abruptly. 

/////

Sylvain is back in his same contemplative state as he was before the bandits. Laying and staring up at the ceiling in his dorm room. This was cut short by Felix barging into his room.

“We need to talk.” Felix says pulling out Sylvain’s desk chair and sitting down. Sylvain sits up, grunting from the pain in his side. 

“What… why are you here?” Sylvain grins, “You gonna admit you have a crush on me finally? I mean I get it.”

“You’re relentless. And No. I need you to deal with your problems. We need to make a decision right now on what to do and everyone is looking at you for that decision.” Felix looks at Sylvain sharply. 

“I don’t know why they’re all so obsessed with having someone else make their decisions for them.” 

“It’s because they’re so used to blindly following Dimitri. Now he’s gone and they need someone to give them hope and make them feel safe.” Those words coming from Felix hit Sylvain hard. 

“Why me though?” 

“Because… they think you could do a good job. _We_ think you can do it. You’re smart and you care about everyone despite being a grade-A asshole most of the time.” Felix holds his hands tightly in fist, it hurt even admitting Sylvain could do the job. 

“You were so close to saying something actually nice to me.” Sylvain laughs, “Thank you.” Sylvain stands up. “Tell everyone to meet me in our old classroom, I got something to share with the group.” 

/////

The Blue Lions gathered in the classroom. Sylvain is leaned against the desk, looking out on the five of them. 

“I don’t want to be your leader. It feels wrong.” He admits to the crowd. “I’m not meant for that. But I know someone who is.” He takes a pause and goes to the black board, flipping it to the other side. It’s a map of Fodlan with lots of annotations. “These are all the places where empire troops were brutally attacked in Faerghus, I had kept track of this news when I was living with my father in the Gautier territory.”

“My father visited all those places, there was no sign of _him_.” Annette recalls. 

“Yeah of course not. He moves fast. He doesn’t want to be found.” Sylvain points to a camp in the empire. “He’s going to Enbarr, just taking out camps on his way. I’d predict he’s close to here, right around the Gaspard territory.” 

“My Dad had been looking for him too and still no luck, why do you think we’re any different?” Felix says. 

“Because we have an advantage. We know him. We really know him, for better or for worse.” Sylvain says, “He’s our king, he’s our leader. Let’s go find him. And when we do, we can get the remaining Kingdom troops to join our cause, making it easier to stay here in the monastery.” 

A warmth filled the room. All the Blue Lions felt a fierce surge in determination. They were able to hold out hope to find Dimitri again and save Fodlan from this never-ending war. There was so many great challenges ahead of them, but together they could do anything. 


	2. The return of a King

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Blue Lion's head on a journey to find Dimitri, finding someone they never expected to find.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hellloooooooo! This chapter is very dramatic but I feel like there are some real beautiful character moments in it!! I hope you enjoy reading it, I enjoyed writing it.

They settled in a camp in the Gaspard territory, a spot that was picked by Ashe who knew the area well. Their journey had been a slightly difficult one, as they had to trek through the mountains and found the snow slowed them down. But once they arrived the group adjusted quickly. They were next to small town, a town that also happened to be ran by the Empire at the moment. There were troops everywhere, which prompted the Blue Lions to shed themselves of any Faerghus family crests on their clothing as well as their crest weapons. All of them were nervous for what was to come. As most of them were nobles, they could be easily sniffed out by the empire soldiers, so they had to take extra caution. 

Ashe led them into town to investigate, seeing if there was any information on Imperial camps being destroyed. The town was desolate, with only a few marketplaces open. 

“It so sad to see the town like this.” Ashe says as they walk the streets. There were plenty of soldiers on the street, forcing the towns people to be scarce. 

“Oh, they have some fresh fruit. We should buy some!” Mercedes notices, “Sylvain would you like to come with me?” 

“Of course.” Sylvain notions to the empire soldiers, “We should all split up to check if anyone here has seen you know who.”

“Sounds good to me!” Annette responds, grabbing Ingrid and heading towards another part of town. Felix immediately headed out on his own, prompting Ashe to run after him. 

The markets were sparse but still active. Mercedes and Sylvain approached some young women selling fresh fruits. Mercedes looked for the best ones while Sylvain began talking with the women, picking up his old habits.

“What are two beautiful women like you doing in a place like this?” Sylvain says, earning a playful eyeroll from Mercedes, just letting him embarrass himself. It was a stupid question but nonetheless it made the two ladies giggle. 

“Is there anything in particular you’re looking for?” One of the shopkeepers responded, playing into Sylvain’s shenanigans. 

“Hmm come to think of it… maybe some romance.” It was cringey to watch but it felt normal to Mercedes, letting Sylvain talk himself into a corner. It felt nostalgic to her, a memory from an easier time. 

“You look familiar, but I can’t place my finger on it.” One of the women remarked, taking a moment to really look at Sylvain. 

“Hmm… He really does…” The other one agreed. 

“Well I mean if you’ve seen a handsomely charming Knight, then of course I would remind you of them.” Sylvain smirks at the women.   
“No. That’s not it.” They take a bit of time to think, racking their brains for the person they were looking for. Something changes in one of the women. She loses her smile and her eyes widen. She backs up a little bit away from him. She was fearful of him. Sylvain stood still, realizing exactly where they were going with this. 

“Miklan… you look like him.” The shopkeeper’s voice trembles. 

“How do you know who that is?” Sylvain was stern in his statement, a seriousness that came out only in the direst of situations. 

“We should head back to camp now.” Mercedes says, lightly pulling his wrist. 

“How do you know him?” Sylvain asks again, ripping his hand away from Mercedes’ grip. 

“He came through our town 5 or so years ago. He ravaged the place. He hurt a lot of people.”

“He’s dead now. You don’t have to worry about him coming back.” Sylvain then turns and leaves, leaving the girls with that statement. Mercedes follows him as he storms out of town and back to the camp. 

/////

Sylvain sat in front of the fire quietly for hours, just staring into the flames. Mercedes decided to let him stew in it, as it seemed like he needed the time to process. The rest of the Blue Lions were surprised when they returned by his unusual temperament. They all gathered in a tent away from him to speak about any information the group has gathered, but alas the conversation focused on addressing Sylvain’s disposition. 

“What’s his problem?” Felix says with no regard. 

“He was flirting with some towns girls until they told him that he looked like Miklan. Apparently, he had made his way through this town before we killed him.” Mercedes softly recounts. Every one’s face shifts, acknowledging the weight of the situation. 

“Oh.” Felix retreats from his usual candidness. 

“Let’s not dwell on it, for his sake.” Ingrid changes the topic, “Who’s hungry?”

“Yes!” Ashe responds, “Can’t think too hard on an empty stomach.” The group agrees and disperses into their different roles for preparing dinner. 

When it grew dark, they gathered by the fire. Things had lightened up from earlier, Sylvain was back to his usual self and they were all enjoying a meal together. This prompted another discussion about the matter at hand, Dimitri. 

“So, was there any news about the king? That’s why we’re here right.” Sylvain asks the group. 

“We talked to some villagers about the Imperial camps being destroyed. Apparently, it’s been happening all over the kingdom.” Annette explains to the group, “They said even though the Kingdom has been technically been loyal to the Empire, that the normal townspeople have been thankful for the destruction of the camps.” 

“Interesting, so that would mean a lot of the people of the kingdom are still loyal to the Faerghus royal family.” Ashe concludes, “Felix and I also found out some information.” Ashe nudges Felix to speak. 

“We overheard some empire soldiers talking about the attacks. They said it was some beast of a person who came through the other camps. It was undoubtebly the boar.” Felix says. 

“At least we have a semblance of a lead.” Sylvain announces, “I say we turn in for the night and work more on this tomorrow.” The lions agree. Ingrid and Annette head off to their tent, while Felix immediately pulls out his sword and begins sparring against a tree. Ashe leaves to go get some more firewood. Mercedes gets ready to leave too, but not without checking in on Sylvain. 

“Are you going to go bed soon?” Mercedes asks.

“I think I’m gonna stay up a bit longer.” Sylvain says. Mercedes closes the space between them by standing in-front of him and pushing a loose piece of his hair behind his ear. The nurturing touch was enough to make him feel less alone, “Thank you.” 

Mercedes responds by giving a small smile and nodding. She heads off to her tent, leaving him to his own devices once again. He takes the solitude to relax, thinking to himself about the events of the day and unpacking them all on his own. It wasn’t fun but it was something he knew he had to work on doing more. This solemnness was cut off but a fierce voice returning from his one-person sparring session. 

“Hey.” Felix says. It was one of the warmer ways of him greeting Sylvain. 

“Hey.” 

“You know… you’re not like him. Don’t ever think that you’re like him.” This was an unusual action from Felix but then again it was also rare for Sylvain to be this upset. 

“It’s hard to not to think it when every time you look in mirror you see him.” 

“That’s the one thing you and I have in common. I will never stop seeing Glenn. I just have to force myself to move on from it when there’s more important things to worry about.” Weirdly enough Felix’s brash words made Sylvain feel better. 

“Thanks dude.” Sylvain stood up, “I should head to bed then.”

“Do what you want.” Felix sheathed his sword, sitting by the fire. “I’ll take the night watch.” 

Sylvain was about to head off to his tent, but he was stopped by a harrowing scream coming from the nearby woods. It was Ashe. Felix stood up immediately, taking his sword out again and running towards the scream. Sylvain followed, lance in hand. 

Ashe was on the ground, luckily not too hurt. Felix helped him off the ground. It wasn’t too long until all the blue lions arrived at their location. 

“What happened?” Ingrid asked. 

“It was like a ghost. I don’t even know; I saw them for a second. I was told to get out of their way and then before I knew I it, I was pushed onto the ground.” Ashe stated.

Sylvain and Felix made eye contact, both realizing who and what that was. 

“We need to go to town. Now.” Felix declared.

/////

The streets of the town were now lined with dead soldiers. Their blood pooled into streams, shining red in the moonlight. The lions followed the bodies, each one more disturbing than the last. They may have been their enemy, but each lion felt a sense of empathy for the soldiers. Hearing and talking about the war was so much different than actually seeing it. For the short time they had spent together, they felt they had escaped this grim reality but seeing it again right in-front of them reminded them of how horrible things truly were. 

‘There was no way this could be the work of their old friend’ everyone thought except for Felix, who had seen Dimitri exude bloodlust like this once before. He had warned the rest for years about this part of Dimitri but none of them believed him. Not until now. 

The bodies lead them to a small church in the center of town. Sylvain took a deep breath before opening the doors to the chapel, the rest following him inside. 

A looming figure stood at the altar. A darkness exuded from him. He had a large fur cloak covering his shoulders, his back faced the group. It was nothing they expected. The church was filled with more dead soldiers, the stone was soaked in their blood. It was hard to digest the sheer amount of violence that occurred in such a sacred place. 

“Disgusting.” Felix scoffed. 

The figure turned around, he had long blonde hair and eye patch. It was nothing they expected but it was undeniably their king. His eye had terrifying stare it in, making contact with Sylvain who was slowly walking towards him. 

“Felix, you need to leave.” Sylvain demands, knowing that he would antagonize Dimitri further, “Take Ashe and Annette, they don’t need to see this.” He put his lance down, in an effort to make Dimitri calm down. “Hey…Dimitri… it’s your friend, Sylvain.”

“I know.” Dimitri holds a powerful stance, his own lance still in his hands, “You have come here to collect my head, haven’t you?” 

“No, I don’t want to hurt you.” Sylvain calmly said, “I just want to talk to you.”

“I don’t need you getting in my way.” Dimitri came closer to him. He was taller than him now, and he was much stronger too. Sylvain would be destroyed by him, but he wasn’t scared, he had to do what was right to help end this war and that began with dealing with Dimitri. 

Ingrid and Mercedes watched with bated breath. Ingrid gripped her lance, afraid of the idea of having to choose between her king and her best friend if things got violent but knowing deep inside that Sylvain was the one she’d choose despite her adherence to knightlihood. 

“We need you. Your country needs you. Come back to the monastery with us, please. We can talk through all of this and heal together.” Sylvain explained. His words were genuine. It was a part of him that rarely came out, but he knew the moments it was needed most.

“You will just hold me back. I must destroy the empire.” Dimitri turns away from him, looking up at the stained-glass windows which portrayed an image of the saints of Seiros, “I have to. For my father… my mother… for Glenn.” 

“I understand wanting revenge. We all want some sort of revenge.” Sylvain bowed his head down, beginning to understand a small part of Dimitri’s warped point of view. 

“You will never understand. You are an idle idiot; I wouldn’t be surprised if you began working with Her. You could be easily swayed by anyone with a pretty face.” They were harsh words, but Sylvain just ignored it. It wasn’t like he never heard something like that before. Sylvain took a deep breath.

“Please, just trust me.” A stillness spread across the room, as Dimitri took a long pause before responding. He loosened his grip on his weapon and backed up away from Sylvain. It seemed almost as if he was retreating, maybe coming down from the rage that filled his soul. But that was only a wish. 

“You will not get in my way!” Dimitri growled. He tensed his grip again, lifting his weapon in order to strike Sylvain. He was ready to kill him in order to chase his ravenous craving for blood of the emperor. He was unafraid of hurting those he used to hold so close to his heart. Dimitri brought down his weapon on Sylvain, just about to take his life. 

Then there was a sudden flash of light and Dimitri was knocked onto the ground. He was completely unconscious but still alive. Mercedes stood right behind Sylvain, with her arm out in-front of her from casting the powerful thunder spell. She had vowed to never hurt anyone, just to heal but she hurt Dimitri. Sylvain took a bit to process what had just happened. He was more worried about Mercedes than how he almost lost his own life.

“You saved me.” He said while trying to catch his breath. He pulled her into a hug while Ingrid came over to investigate Dimitri, “You’ve never hurt anyone before.”

“In war, we must do what we have to do.” Mercedes said, pulling away from Sylvain but still holding his hand in hers, the hand that saved him. 

“He’s alive but I don’t know how much longer he’ll be out for.” Ingrid noticed. Felix, Ashe and Annette busted back through the doors. 

“What the hell happened?” Felix said enraged, kneeling down to also investigate Dimitri. 

“Sylvain tried talking to him, but he reacted badly.” Ingrid explains. 

“He… uh… tried to kill me.” Sylvain said while finally letting go of Mercedes hand, “but Mercedes saved my life. We should figure out some way to keep him knocked out until we can get him back to Garreg Mach. He won’t come willingly.” 

“We’re taking this beast back to the monastery. He tried to murder you.” Felix said while standing up and unsheathing his sword, “You could have died.” 

“I didn’t though.” Sylvain reassured. Felix was angry and not his usual perpetual angst. It was the same kind of anger he had after Duscur. 

“He is no longer our friend. He’s no longer our king.” Felix lifted his weapon above Dimitri’s body, “He shouldn’t be walking on this earth any longer.” Felix got in a stance, ready to strike but Sylvain dove right in-front of him, causing Felix to stop. His blade was rested on Sylvain’s chest plate.

“You can’t. We need him.” Sylvain pushed the tip the blade down and back towards Felix, “If you’re gonna trust anyone, trust me.” 

“I will not hesitate to do it if he steps out of line again.” Felix put away his blade. 

“I know there are some herbs that doctors use to knock out patients during tough procedures. I always bring them on missions just in case.” Annette disclosed to the group, “Let’s start heading back to the monastery soon. I only have enough to keep him out for a few days.”

“Ashe, help me carry him back to camp.” Ingrid insisted, lifting up one side of Dimitri’s body. He was quite heavy now. 

The group headed out of the church. They were changed from seeing him again. It wasn’t the person they expected him to be, he wasn’t fit to lead them yet. He needed to get better first. 

/////

Once back at Garreg Mach, they put Dimitri’s unconscious body in the Cathedral. They had debated a lot about whether to constrain him or not. It felt wrong to chain up their king, but he wasn’t in a healthy state. He was angry and confused and had the capacity to hurt them. Ingrid showed them they could do it humanely by chaining him to a pillar and only attaching it to his ankle. They didn’t want to make him more upset if they were ever going to talk to him out of this terrifying state he was in. 

When he finally awoke, no one dared to speak with him yet or even go inside the cathedral. The dynamic between the Blue Lion’s didn’t feel the same as it did only a few days earlier. They couldn’t find a reason to smile. Meals were silent and they barely spoke to each other except for the occasional small talk. It was a bleak time. 

On a brave day Sylvain entered the chapel and watched the man from afar. He was just sitting there, speaking to himself and staring up at the rubble. It was such a sad image. He was their leader, someone they depended on in difficult situations. This man in-front of him was no leader, it was a very haunted person who needed someone else to lead him out of the darkness. Sylvain never wanted to be that person, but it seemed he needed to be. 

Felix entered the chapel as well, obviously having followed Sylvain there. 

“Hey Felix.” 

“Why are you here?” Felix asked. Dimitri didn’t notice the two talking, he was too lost in his own mind. 

“I thought I would check up on him.”

“Well next time you do that, tell me so you won’t have to come here alone. He almost hurt you once, I’ll bet he’ll do it again.”

“It seems like he’s calmed down. But thank you for your concern.” Sylvain smiled for the first time in days. It felt good knowing Felix cared about him. They stood still, watching him together. 

Another person entered the chapel. It was Mercedes, she seemed surprised at the other two being there. 

“You two are here? What a delightful site.” She said. She smiled at both of them. It was almost contagious. 

“What are you doing here?” Felix said brashly. 

“I’ve been coming to pray to the Goddess.” 

“By yourself—but what about—you know who?” Sylvain stammered. Mercedes laughed.

“It’s okay, he won’t hurt me. I stay far enough away from him and anyways he hasn’t been as angry as he was the other night. He’s just been in his own world. I hope if I keep coming and he gets more comfortable with me being around, he’ll begin to talk with me.” Mercedes left them with that thought and walked up to the front of cathedral to pray. 

“She’s braver than all of us.” Sylvain said, looking at her from afar. She looked radiant and ethereal in the moonlight. His staring was cut off by Felix’s impatience. 

“Well not to be that person but what are we going to do now?” 

“I have a really stupid idea but now that we have him, I think my Dad will finally be able to lend us a hand with the Gautier soldiers.” Sylvain lamented. 

“So, you’re going to write him a letter or something?” 

“No, he won’t believe me if I write him. I’m gonna have to show him that we have Dimitri.” Sylvain sighed, finally admitting that they will have to go back to the Gautier territory. It was a necessary step but a difficult one. Its would-be long-winded journey before things ever went back to normal but the Blue Lions were ready to take that journey. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some notes about it  
> \- I know he's chained up and Dimitri's strong af because of his crest so i just ignored the idea that he could just easily break out of them  
> \- Miklan is mega evil and I just want to make it clear that I really think that  
> \- I think I'll delve deeper into the 3 main characters in the next chapter as the slow burn continues to burn  
> \- Sorry that this chapter wasn't very lighthearted but I'm excited to include some more fun moments in the next chapter  
> \- I'm really thinking of changing the fic rating because I want to include some mature sexy times soon so we'll see but right now I'm going to keep it at mature

**Author's Note:**

> Just some notes from the chapter  
> \- I had decided not to include Byleth in the story. They are honestly impossible to write since they don't have any real character traits (i'm sorry :()  
> \- Sylvain is Bi-sexual obviously but I wanted to make it clearer in my interpretation of him rather than the canon story  
> \- I cannot choose between Mercedes/Sylvain and Felix/Sylvain so i decided to make it a love triangle, we'll have to see together who Sylvain chooses in the end  
> \- Ingrid is a little different in my interpretation than the canon, mostly because they gave her the short end of the stick writing wise so I decided to take it upon myself to give her good character development (also shes a lesbian in this)  
> \- All the Blue Lions will have their time to shine  
> \- Also this will be VERY different from the original blue lions route, so get ready for some fun and fresh character and story moments.


End file.
